Firing pin assembly

ABSTRACT

A firing pin assembly, adapted to provide an operable firing mechanism which will function when a practice bomb or similar device is delivered to a target from a plane at any approach angle.

[ 1 Feb. 27, 1973 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS FIRING PINASSEMBLY [75] Inventors: Floyd J. Milanowski, Pocomoke City, Md; ArthurJ. Bowman, Jr., Succasunna, NJ. [73] Assignee: The United States ofAmerica as 2,513,536 7/1950 wellington........................ 1,321,45511/1919 Kennedy 3,021,787 2/1962 Michaels.... represented the secretaryof the 3,379,131 Army April 22, 1971 Primary Examiner-Samuel W. Engle[22] Filed:

Attorney-Harry M. Saragovitz, Edward J. Kelly and Herbert Berl [21]Appl. No.: 136,424

[57] ABSTRACT A firing pin assembly, adapted to provide an operablefiring mechanism which will function when a practice bomb or similardevice is delivered to a target from a plane at any approach angle.

[52] US. Cl........................102/73 A, 102/7.6, 102/8 [51] Int.1/06 102/70, 73 R, 73 A, 78

[58] Field of Search 2 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEDrsszmra SHEET 1OF 2 rnltllllifllllflllllll INVENTUR J. MILANOWSKI J. BOWMAN. JR.

FLOYD ARTHUR 1m mi an z q M 44/ A TTOR/VE V PATENTED 3, 718,093

SHEET 2 or 2 FIGA INVENTORS FLOYD J. MILANOWSK! ARTHUR J. BOWMAN. JR.

ATTORNE FIRING PIN ASSEMBLY The invention described herein may bemanufac tured, used and licensed by or for the Government forGovernmental purposes without payment to us of any royalties thereon.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION This invention relates generally to firingmechanism, and more specifically relates to a firing pin assembly whichprovides a unitary construction in which the firing pin assembly ismounted for firing a practice bomb or other similar device on impact ofthe bomb from any approach angle.

Pursuant to the invention, the firing pin assembly will operateconveniently and efficiently in practice target drops onto any type ofterrain and in water, from any approach angle.

In accordance with the foregoing it may be regarded as among the objectsof the present invention to provide a novel firing pin assembly for usein detonation of a practice bomb on impact with a target, to achieve ahigh level of efficiency in training.

Now in accordance with the present invention, the foregoing objects andothers as will become apparent in the course of the ensuingspecification are achieved through use of a firing pin assembly operableas will be described below so that the practice bomb can be delivered atany target approach angle to a land or water target.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention is diagrammaticallyillustrated by way of example in the appended drawings wherein similarreference characters indicate like parts, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational, fragmentary partly-sectional view of apractice bomb with the firing pin assembly of the invention positionedtherein;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational fragmentary partly-sectional view of afirst embodiment of the firing pin assembly pursuant to the invention,shown in a safe condition;

FIG. 3 is a similar view thereof, shown in a fired condition;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational, fragmentary partly-sectional view of asecond embodiment of the firing pin assembly pursuant to the invention,shown in a safe con dition;

FIG. 5 is a similar view thereof, shown in an armed condition; and

FIG. 6 is a similar view thereof, shown in a fired condition.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In accordance with the preferredmode of practicing the invention, the firing pin assembly 11 (FIG. 1) isshown in position in a practice bomb 12.

In a first embodiment of the invention (FIGS. 2 and 3) the firing pinassembly 11a comprises, for example, an outer housing with a forwardcavity portion 21, rear cavity portion 22, end portion 23 and recessedopening 24 therein an inner housing 25, with cavity 26, firing pinspring guide 37, and apertures 27, 27' therein, an inner housing spring28, spring retainer ring 29, and actuator member 30 between said outerhousing 20 and inner housing 25, a firing pin 31 with rear cavity 32,outer wall channel 33, and firing pin spring 34 between said firing pinrear cavity 32 and said inner housing 25, hearing members 35, 35 and pinretainer 36.

In a second embodiment of the invention (FIGS. 4-6) the firing pinassembly 11b, for example, cpmprises outer housing with forward cavityportion 41 and rear cavity portion 42, a firing pin 43, with slots 44,44' shown (44" not shown, three slots in this embodiment), rear rimportion 45 and rear shaft portion 46, flat springs 47, 47' shown. (47"not shown, three springs in this embodiment) sliding sleeve 48, firingpin spring 49, spacer spring 50, an inner housing 51 with forwardprojecting sleeve 52, retainer ring 53, actuator 54 and pin retainer 55.

In operation of a first embodiment of the invention (FIGS. 2 and 3), forexample, the firing pin assembly 11a comprised a suspended internalmechanism. To prepare the firing pin assembly 11a in a safe position(FIG. 2), the operator will place the firing pin spring 34 into the rearcavity 32 of the firing pin 31. The firing pin subassembly is thenplaced in cavity 26 of inner housing 25 until firing pin spring 34 isaligned on firing pin spring guide 37. The bearing members 35 and 35 arethen placed in the apertures 27 and 27 This inner housing subassembly isthen inserted into the forward cavity portion 21 of the outer housing 20through the rear cavity portion 22. The firing pin 31 is then depressedin cavity 26 of the inner housing 25 until the outer wall channel 33aligns with apertures 27 and 27'. This will be evidenced by thepermission of further movement of the inner housing subassembly into theforward cavity 21 thereby allowing bearing members 35 and 35' to contactforward cavity wall 21 between recess opening 24 and rear cavity portion22. With the inner housing subassembly held in position, the actuatormember 30 may then be placed behind the inner housing subassembly andthe end portion 23 of the outer housing 20 is rolled over the actuatormember 30 thereby securing the inner housing subassembly and theactuator to the outer housing. The inner housing spring 28 may then beplaced into the forward cavity portion 21 of the outer housing 20 andlocked therein by retainer ring 29. In operation, (FIG. 3) when theassembled practice bomb is dropped in a horizontal position with noforward movement the rear portion of the actuator member 30 will move tothe fired position shown because of the gravitational force at impact.This movement of the actuator member 30 will force the inner housingsub-assembly to move forward to a position where the bearing members 35,35 will move into the recessed opening 24 of the outer housing 20 tothereby release the firing pin 31 so that it can move forward and strikethe shot gun shell 38. When the practice bomb is dropped from a fastmoving plane at very low altitudes and strikes the ground or water, theinner housing 25 will move forward by itself due to the full force ofthe impact allowing the bearing members 35, 35' to move into therecessed opening 24 of the outer housing 20 to release the firing pin tostrike the shot gun shell.

In operation of a second embodiment of the invention, (FIGS. 46), forexample, the firing pin assembly 11b comprises a flat spring actionmechanism. To prepare the firing pin assembly 11b in a safe condition(FIG. 4) ready for firing, the operator will place the firing pin 43into the forward cavity portion 41 of outer housing 40. The fiat springs47 (three in the embodiment shown) may then be assembled in the slots 44(three in the embodiment shown) of the firing pin 43. The spacer spring50 is then placed into cavity 42 over the flat springs 47. The flatspring 47 and the sliding sleeve 48 are then placed in the positionshown in FIG. 4. The helical firing pin spring 49 is then assembled onthe rear shaft portion 46 of the firing pin 43, and then the innerhousing 51 and actuator 54 are placed in the position shown in FIG. 4.The complete assembly is then retained by retainer ring 53. In operation(FIGS. 4-6) when the assembled practice bomb is dropped in a horizontalposition with no forward movement, the rear portion of the actuatormember 54 will move to the firing position shown (FIG. 6) because of thegravitational force at impact. This movement of the actuator member 54will force the inner housing 51 together with the sliding sleeve 48 to aposition where the inner radius of the sliding sleeve 48 will slip offthe rear flat surfaces of the flat springs 47 and allow the angularsurfaces of the flat springs to ride over the adjacent angular surfacesof the rear rim portion 45 of the firing pin 43 thus releasing thefiring pin 43 so that the conical firing pin spring 49 will force thefiring pin forward to strike the shot gun shell. When the practice bombis dropped from a fast moving plane at very low altitudes and strikesthe ground or water, the force of impact will move the inner housing 51and the sliding sleeve 48 forward far enough to release the flat springs47 that hold the firing pin 43 so that is can move forward to strike theshot gun shell.

The advantage of this invention is that it will operate in practicetarget drops onto any type of terrain and in water from any approachangle because of the versatility of the internal mechanism.

While the present invention has been particularly set forth in terms ofspecific embodiments thereof, it will be evident in view of the instantdisclosure, that numerous variations upon the invention are now enabledto those skilled in the art, which variations in propriety are yetwithin the true scope of this teaching. Accordingly the invention is tobe broadly construed, and limited only by the scope and spirit of theclaims now appended hereto.

I claim:

1. A firing pin assembly, for firing a practice bomb or similar deviceupon delivery thereof to a target, comprising:

a. a biased firing pin member which includes;

an outer wall portion, a projecting forward tip portion and arear-opening cavity portion and an outer wall circumferential channelpositioned at an intermediate point along said outer wall portion;

b. displacement means, for displacing said firing pin member upon impactwhich includes;

an inner housing member, having an outer wall portion with a constrictedforward sleeve portion and a forward bearing surface and a rear enlargedguide portion with a rear bearing surface, a front-opening cavityportion with an inner bearing surface, and apertures spacedcircumferentially at an intermediate location in said inner housingmember, a hollow retainer ring retained in a forward portion of saidouter housing member, an inner housing spring interposed between saidinner housing forward bearing surface and said retainer ring, anactuator member having a front plate portion, an intermediate neckportion, and an enlarged rear portion interposed between said innerhousing rear bearing surface and said outer housing rear inner wallportion and extending through said rear portion of said outer housingmember, a firing pin spring interposed between said firing pin cavityportion and said inner housing inner bearing surface, and bearingmembers disposed in said circumferentially spaced inner housingapertures interposed between said outer housing inner wall recessedcircumferential channel and said firing pin outer wall circumferentialchannel;

0. a frame member, housing said firing pin member and displacement meanstherein which includes;

a hollow tubular outer housing member, comprising an outer wall portion,an inner front wall portion and a reduced inner rear wall guide portionand an inner wall recessed circumferential channel positioned at anintermediate point along said inner front wall portion.

2. A firing pin assembly, for firing a practice bomb or similar deviceupon delivery thereof to a target which comprises:

a cylindrical outer housing having a forward cavity in a first end and arear cavity of larger diameter communicating with said forward cavity inits other end, said rear cavity having a retainer ring operativelypositioned in said other end, said housing having a shoulderintermediate said forward and rear cavities.

a firing pin having a pointed end slidably fitting within said forwardcavity, a rear rim portion, a rear shaft integral with said rear rim andaxially aligned with said pointed end, a plurality of spring slotsintermediate said pointed end and said rear rim;

an inner cylindrical housing slidably fitting within said rear cavityhaving an open end and a closed end and a forward sleeve projecting fromsaid closed end slidably positioned upon said rear shaft;

a conically-shaped spring operatively positioned intermediate saidfiring pin rear rim and said inner housing so that said conieally-shapedspring is circumambient said rear shaft and said forward projectingsleeve;

a cylindrical sliding sleeve slidably positioned in said rear cavityhaving a first end adjacent said inner housing open end and aconstricted rim on the other end;

a helical spacer spring biasedly positioned within said outer housingrear cavity circumambient said firing pin spring slots having a firstend adjacent said sliding sleeve constricted end and its other enddirected toward said outer housing shoulder;

a plurality of flat springs each interposed in one of said firing pinslots at one end bearing against said outer housing shoulder and at anintermediate point on flat surfaces contacting said firing pin springslots, and at said flat springs other ends tan- 6 gentially contactingsaid sliding sleeve forward pact forces said inner housing together withsaid constricted other end; and sliding sleeve to a position where saidrear rim slips an actuator member having a front plate interoff saidflat springs other ends thereby permitting mediate said inner housingand said retainer ring i fl f pri g o ve outwardly and away fromportion, said plate having a rounded edge, an inter- 5 q f PP therebyreleasmg said fil'lng P and mediate neck portion passing through saidretainer mmatmg 534d bombring and an enlarged rear portion which uponim- 7

1. A firing pin assembly, for firing a practice bomb or similar deviceupon delivery thereof to a target, comprising: a. a biased firing pinmember which includes; an outer wall portion, a projecting forward tipportion and a rear-opening cavity portion and an outer wallcircumferential channel positioned at an intermediate point along saidouter wall portion; b. displacement means, for displacing said firingpin member upon impact which includes; an inner housing member, havingan outer wall portion with a constricted forward sleeve portion and aforward bearing surface and a rear enlarged guide portion with a rearbearing surface, a front-opening cavity portion with an inner bearingsurface, and apertures spaced circumferentially at an intermediatelocation in said inner housing member, a hollow retainer ring retainedin a forward portion of said outer housing member, an inner housingspring interposed between said inner housing forward bearing surface andsaid retainer ring, an actuator member having a front plate portion, anintermediate neck portion, and an enlarged rear portion interposedbetween said inner housing rear bearing surface and said outer housingrear inner wall portion and extending through said rear portion of saidouter housing member, a firing pin spring interposed between said firingpin cavity portion and said inner housing inner bearing surface, andbearing members disposed in said circumferentially spaced inner housingapertures interposed between said outer housing inner wall recessedcircumferential channel and said firing pin outer wall circumferentialchannel; c. a frame member, housing said firing pin member anddisplacement means therein which includes; a hollow tubular outerhousing member, comprising an outer wall portion, an inner front wallportion and a reduced inner rear wall guide portion and an inner wallrecessed circumferential channel positioned at an intermediate pointalong said inner front wall portion.
 2. A firing pin assembly, forfiring a practice bomb or similar device upon delivery thereof to atarget which comprises: a cylindrical outer housing having a forwardcavity in a first end and a rear cavity of larger diameter communicatingwith said forward cavity in its other end, said rear cavity having aretainer ring operatively positioned in said other end, said housinghaving a shoulder intermediate saId forward and rear cavities. a firingpin having a pointed end slidably fitting within said forward cavity, arear rim portion, a rear shaft integral with said rear rim and axiallyaligned with said pointed end, a plurality of spring slots intermediatesaid pointed end and said rear rim; an inner cylindrical housingslidably fitting within said rear cavity having an open end and a closedend and a forward sleeve projecting from said closed end slidablypositioned upon said rear shaft; a conically-shaped spring operativelypositioned intermediate said firing pin rear rim and said inner housingso that said conically-shaped spring is circumambient said rear shaftand said forward projecting sleeve; a cylindrical sliding sleeveslidably positioned in said rear cavity having a first end adjacent saidinner housing open end and a constricted rim on the other end; a helicalspacer spring biasedly positioned within said outer housing rear cavitycircumambient said firing pin spring slots having a first end adjacentsaid sliding sleeve constricted end and its other end directed towardsaid outer housing shoulder; a plurality of flat springs each interposedin one of said firing pin slots at one end bearing against said outerhousing shoulder and at an intermediate point on flat surfacescontacting said firing pin spring slots, and at said flat springs otherends tangentially contacting said sliding sleeve forward constrictedother end; and an actuator member having a front plate intermediate saidinner housing and said retainer ring portion, said plate having arounded edge, an intermediate neck portion passing through said retainerring and an enlarged rear portion which upon impact forces said innerhousing together with said sliding sleeve to a position where said rearrim slips off said flat springs other ends thereby permitting said flatsprings to move outwardly and away from said firing pin therebyreleasing said firing pin and initiating said bomb.